Post submitted by Sharon Groves, former HRC Director, Religion and Faith Program

“For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:15.

This line from Galatians will be the subject of many Christian sermons this Sunday.

In light of today’s historic Supreme Court decisions I think it is worth asking with renewed vigor,“What does it mean to love your neighbor?” and “Are we loving better now?”

If Dr. Cornell West is right, that “justice is what love looks like in public,” then how do we read the recent decisions?

Today the United States Supreme Court ruled to return marriage equality to California and to strike down DOMA. This is an amazing victory for which many have dedicated their lives and their livelihood, including people of faith. For this work, we are all in a better place today. It seems we are learning to love better.

Yet as HRC’s President, Chad Griffin pointed out, “These decisions underscore the emergence of two Americas. In one, LGBT citizens are nearing full equality. In the other, our community lacks even the most basic protections. ” What are the barriers of geography in our capacity to love?

Yesterday, the Supreme Court moved backwards and struck down a key provision of the voting rights act that effectively strips away at Civil Right protections at the ballot box. It seems that while we are growing to accept LGBT people as part of our community, we are reneging on our commitment to Civil Rights in the voting box for those marginalized because of race. What are the barriers to race in our capacity to love?

As we celebrate today, let us also hold each other in the deeper struggle for a truly expansive love that can embrace all of us regardless of race, income, sexual orientation, gender identity and geography. Let this monumental victories compel us to deeper work of eradicating all barriers to love.